Zorki 10

The Zorki 10 is a Soviet-era
fixed-lens rangefinder made by the KMZ factory near Krasnogorsk, which is
a suburb of Moscow. Unlike its interchangeable lens Zorki 4 siblings, the
10 is a simple point-and-shoot. Nonetheless, it features full program auto-exposure.
All you have to do is focus and push the button. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

It was the first
Soviet auto-exposure camera. I love the design, it's the epitome of functional
modernism, very sleek metal lines. It was apparently inspired by the Ricoh
35 camera. Check out the cool "Made in USSR" stamp on the side.

One writer notes that the
Zorki 10 has a 'bulb' setting for long exposures, but it has no attachment
for a cable release! That means the only way to take multi-second exposures
is by holding down the shutter release button.

There was also a companion
Zorki 11 that did not have a rangefinder but was scale-focus only. There
was a Zorki 12 that was apparently a half-frame camera.

Interesting quirks

The quirky thing about
the Zorki 10 is that it uses ASA/DIN numbers and not the usual standard Soviet
GOST numbers. That means it was designed for export production, but the ASA
numbers are: ASA 20, 40, 50, 80, 100, 160, 250, 320. Good luck using ASA
200 or 400 film! In reality it doesn't matter
since the selenium cell isn't that accuate, but it's cute nonetheless.

Also check out the really
cool bottom mounted trigger wind and film counter. Just the thing every spy
shooter needs. I find the Zorki to be extremely well designed for the era
it was made in.